PROLOGUE
The soft thrum of rain from the sky didn’t stop them from walking down the cobblestone roads, hand in hand.
Vega’s laugh ate up the space around Bridger’s ears, sending him into a laugh of his own.
“You cannot tell me that you didn’t absolutely love that show. I saw the way your eyes lit up when that cute little blonde took the stage.” Vega poked him in the side with her free hand, gazing up at him without worrying about her boots coming down in shallow puddles.
“I only have eyes for you. That blonde could’ve been completely naked on stage, and I still would have only been thinking of how eager I am to rip that sexy black dress off your tight ass the second we get home.” Bridger let go of her hand only long enough to give her butt a firm squeeze.
Vega gasped, laughing again as her eyes glazed over with lust. “Promise?”
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, nibbling at her earlobe while they waited to cross the street. “The light in my eyes you so claim to have seen was really a glossy sheen as I pictured every single cast member as Cupid in a diaper in order to keep my dick in my pants and my hands to myself.”
Vega swatted him away, pulling him through the crosswalk with a newfound pep in her step. “Let’s get home so I can make it up to you, huh?” Her long, dark brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves as she looked back and gave Bridger a wink.
Their walk home from the theater took them nearly half the time it usually would with the new pace Vega’s short legs set.
Bridger pulled his keys out of his black pants, then twisted the lock and opened the front door of their apartment.
No sooner than Bridger had the door shut, Vega was climbing him like a tree. Her lips were on his, instantly parting to let him inside. Bridger’s tongue slid inside her warm mouth, tasting the wine they’d had during intermission.
Notes of berry and smoke engulfed Bridger’s senses. His hands slid down her thighs, hoisting her up as she wrapped her legs around him.
There was no time to make it to the bedroom. He knew he would combust if he didn’t get his girl naked, splayed out in front of him, ready to devour right now.
Vega let out a soft moan against his lips when Bridger tapped her ass before setting her on the kitchen table.
He hiked her dress over her hips while Vega’s fingers worked at the buttons on the front of his shirt. “Fuck, no panties?”
Bridger shimmied out of the shirt, letting the fabric fall to the floor as Vega moved to work on his belt and then to his pants.
“Mmm, so greedy,” Bridger purred against her lips before taking her bottom lip in his mouth and sliding his thumb onto the wet center of her clit.
Vega’s head fell back in pleasure, her eyes rolling into the back of her head with a moan that was sure to wake the neighbors.
His free hand shot to the wall behind the small table, stabilizing himself. Bridger’s finger left her bundle of nerves to pull her forward by the crook of her knee. Vega jarred her hips forward, rubbing her drenched pussy against his bulging cock.
“I need you. God, Bridger, please. I need you.” Vega was breathless, pulling at his boxers.
Once free, Bridger wasted no time lining himself up to her tight little hole. Hungry for her, he slipped in, seating himself all the way inside.
A groan made his body shudder. Bridger pulled out and then slammed back in, grabbing Vega by the throat. “My pretty girl. Fuck, yes. Look at me, baby.” He stared into her lust-dazed eyes, her lips parted as the music to Bridger’s ears escaped her lips.
For a split second, his eyes wandered out of the window, the top floor of their apartment giving him a view of their city’s biggest monument—known to all as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
His eyes rolled back into his head, blacking out his vision and the view he’d been admiring.
***
Bridger jumped from his bed and crashed into a side table, sending a lamp falling to the floor. He was soaked with sweat from head to toe, his hair still wet from the shower he’d taken after battle.
His chest fell and rose methodically, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest.
Bridger had gone to Earth once, and it had been for under an hour, but he knew that landmark—he’d studied it as a part of Tolevarre’s history.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly dressed.
The halls of the Fortis fort were bustling with activity, soldiers leaving training or lectures, going to or from their assigned post. It didn’t matter the time of day. It was always busy here.
Bridger made eye contact with no one, his footsteps light and hurried as he descended the stairs into the massive dungeon.
All of the dreams he’d had of Vega had been memories, real, tangible things he had been hiding away inside his mind. This one wasn’t that—it was a made-up scenario, one that left him feeling disgruntled after waking.
A dream that could only mean one thing…
The guard at the entrance of the cells perked up when she saw Bridger. “Commander,” she said with a salute, standing at attention.
“Where is she?” he asked, having no time for pleasantries.
“Sir?” she asked, cocking her head in confusion.
“The prisoner that was brought in today. Where. Is. She.” Bridger stepped forward, crowding the guard’s space.
She stammered, “Fifth row, cell eight.”
Bridger was moving before the words had finished exiting the girl’s mouth.
Bridger’s eyes landed on a beaten body curled up in a corner, one he wasn’t used to seeing behind bars. It had never been her inside the cell.
Arlet barely had the strength to lift her head when Bridger appeared outside the iron bars.
“I know where Vega is,” he told her, and then watched her eyes grow wide with fear.